What to do if you see a Toad on the road

Warning – Toads on the Road!

March is a very busy time for our toads. As nighttime temperatures rise above 5 degrees, they begin to wake up from hibernation and head towards water.

Our common toads have a strong migratory instinct and will usually follow the same route back to their breeding ponds (or breeding lake in our case)!

After a week or so of “speed-dating”, our toads will often migrate back away from the lake which is why many of our guests have seen toads around our resort over the last few days.

What should you do if you see a toad on the road?

To get to their breeding ground, toads will often need to cross busy roads and footpaths but toads are terrible at the Green Cross Code! So if you happen to see a toad in a hazardous area, it’s always nice to offer them a helping hand.

If you do see a toad on a busy path or road at Bluestone, the best place to move them to is the pathway at the side of our lake, they can safely make their own way from there.

If you have one to hand, a plastic bucket is the safest way to transport the toads and please do always remember to be as gentle as possible when handling them.

Toads are perfectly safe to pick up and don’t worry, they won’t give you warts but their skin does emit a mild toxin which could cause irritation to some, so it is important that you wash your hands after touching them.

Common toads are most active at night when they are busy hunting for food such as snails, slugs, ants and spiders so after dusk is the most likely time to see them.

Our wildlife is very important to us here at Bluestone and we would like to say a special thanks to our guests for helping us to look after our toads!